


Winter Dreams

by Featherbelle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Mild Language, Not Canon Compliant, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10017323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherbelle/pseuds/Featherbelle
Summary: Caitrin O'Malley has loved Fred Weasley for years but believes he just sees her as a friend. Until a misunderstanding concerning the Yule Ball arises…





	

I walked back to the Gryffindor tower in a completely sour mood. It was taking everything I had not to cry. Mumbling the password at the Fat Lady, I stumbled through the door, intending to head straight for my dorm room. But I got stopped by Hermione and Ginny, who were excitedly chattering about the upcoming Yule Ball. I really wasn't in the mood to talk about who was going with who, and who wanted to go with who. As far as I could tell, the wizard I wanted to go with didn't even know I existed, so I saw no point in talking about something that would make me cry my eyes out and put me in a mood darker than Snape's robes.

Hermione immediately saw that I wasn't in the best of moods. "Cait, are you okay?" she asked, and Ginny put a hand on my arm.

I took a deep breath to chase the tears away. "Yeah…I'm fine, guys. Just had a lousy last class is all."

"Wait…don't you have Potions?" Ginny asked, looking back and forth between me and Hermione.

"With me, and Harry, Ron and the twins, yeah," Hermione put in with a frown. "Did something happen with Snape after we left?"

  
"No…no…it wasn't Snape," I replied with a shake of my head. I couldn't help but recall when Fred and George had pulled that aging potion stunt with the Goblet of Fire several days ago. Hermione had cautioned them that it wouldn't work, and I prayed she was right…because either one of them participating in those 'three extremely dangerous tasks' had frankly terrified me.

  
_They had both looked so handsome and so confident. It almost felt like a betrayal of our friendship to not want them to succeed at something, yet every time I thought of them and those as-yet-unnamed tasks…I felt sick inside. The boys had sounded so proud of themselves for having thought of something 'so pathetically dimwitted'. I would have laughed, if I hadn't been scared to death of it possibly working._

_  
I had sat there with Hermione, my eyes glued to my favorite redheads, watching as they drank the potions and jumped over the age line. All of the students in the Great Hall, save myself and Hermione, cheered when nothing happened after the jump. I could hardly breathe as I watched them toss their names into the Goblet. Then, blue flames shot out and wrapped themselves around the twins, throwing them backwards and off to the side of where everyone else had gathered. They had suddenly sprouted beards, those and their hair having turned white. I jumped up and ran over to them, concerned for their safety after such a fall. "Fred! George! Are you alright?" I called, but as I ran, they started arguing with one another. The arguing led to shoving and before I knew it they were rolling around on the stone floor like children. Sighing heartily, I just stood there and waited for them to stop so I could help them to their feet and off to see Madame Pomfrey._

_  
_ I've been good friends with Fred and George since our first year, and had come to care a great deal for them both over the last several years. Usually the three of us are like Harry, Ron and Hermione. Almost always together. But the last few days…especially when they pulled that stunt…and then today…it hurt to be near either of them, but particularly Fred. My long-buried feelings for Fred were coming to the surface…whether I wanted them to or not.

  
And Professor McGonagall, my head of house and normally my favorite teacher, was not helping matters either. When she had gathered us all together to tell us about the Yule Ball, she also insisted we all learn to waltz. She had singled out Ron to assist her, which then prompted Harry and the twins to crack up laughing, joking amongst themselves that they'd never let him live it down. At their laughter, however, Professor McGonagall said sharply, "Mister Weasley…the elder…escort Miss O'Malley to the floor, if you please."  
I could have cheerfully crawled into a bottomless hole, and would have snuck out the door if Hermoine and Ginny had not grabbed me and practically threw me at Fred. Not that I was worried about the dancing itself. I had been dancing since I was a child, and could waltz in my sleep. It was the fact that it was Fred who I was dancing with. George decided to take a potshot at his brother, but karma, the bitch that she is, saw George paired with Hermione. As Fred and I swept past him, I smirked at him. "Could be worse, Georgie."

  
"Oh yeah?" he frowned at me.

  
"You could be dancing with your little sister," I grinned at him, making Fred cackle with delight. Making Fred laugh was the highlight of the afternoon, but I would have much preferred not being surrounded by the entirety of Gryffindor house.

  
Tears welled up in my eyes again as I recalled watching George rather goofily ask Angelina Johnson to the Ball. Fred had not, to my knowledge, asked anyone, but I didn't have a doubt in my mind that he would go with someone…someone not me. I sighed and cast grateful looks to Hermione and Ginny. "Listen, I appreciate you two trying to cheer me up…but I really need to be alone, okay?" Then I hurried upstairs to our shared dorm room.

  
Changing into a Gryffindor t-shirt and black sweat pants, I curled up on my four poster bed and let the tears fall. Damn it…how had I done this? How in the hell had I fallen hopelessly in love with my best friend? My best friend who was apparently clueless as to my feelings. "Brilliant, _Creideamh_ ," I scolded myself scathingly in my native tongue. I always call myself by my middle name when I'm pissed at myself seeing as how my mother's not here to do it for me. "Idiot. Fall in love… moron… he doesn't…stupid…damn…fool…" I berated myself.

  
I had to stop my self-imposed tirade as some movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Swiping at my eyes, I watched, fascinated, as a folded bit of parchment floated delicately over and landed on my bed. When I picked it up, I noticed it had Fred's nickname for me, Rin, written on it in his untidy scrawl. Opening it, I read the short missive.

  
_Rin, please come over to my room. You know I can't come to yours…or I would. There is something I need to talk to you about. XOXO Fred_

  
Hugs and kisses? What the…

  
Flouncing out of bed, I hurried downstairs and through the common room. Hermione and Ginny were not there anymore, but George and Angelina were. "Give him hell, Kitten!" George called, giving me a thumbs-up and a grin.

  
Not having a clue what George was going on about, I ignored him and headed up the boys' dormitory stairs, and to the room shared by the twins and their friend Lee Jordan. Knocking tentatively on the door, I was surprised when it was opened quickly. Fred stood there, still dressed in his Gryffindor uniform, shirt untucked, tie askew, a distressed expression on his face. But whatever he was upset about was immediately forgotten when he saw me.

  
"Rin…have you been crying?" he asked, his tone warm and full of concern as he pulled me inside and shut the door. I glanced around the room nervously, but Fred put my mind at ease. "Lee's out…trying to find a date for the ball, I think."

  
"Okay…" I said, and my stupid voice betrayed me, the two syllables coming out rather shakily. Fred took hold of my shoulders and pulled me over to sit on his bed. "Answer me, love. What's wrong?"

  
"Nothing, Freddie. What makes you think something's wrong?" I asked him, forcing cheerfulness into my voice. Fred, however, could read me like a book, and knew I was lying.

  
"Because I know you, that's why. Now spill. Has someone hurt you? If so, I'll kill them," he declared vehemently.

  
"Fred…really…what did you want to see me about?" I asked, trying to get him off the topic he was so doggedly pursuing. I couldn't tell him he was the one who had caused my tears, after all.

  
"I can tell you that later," he said insistently. "I want to know why you were crying. You're more important to me right now," he said, pulling me into his arms.

  
"I…I am?" I stammered disbelievingly.

  
"Yes, you silly girl. Now…whose arse to I have to kick for making you cry?"

  
"You sure you want to know?" I asked.

  
"Yes…" he said. "I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

  
I pulled away and regarded him calmly. "Technically, Freddie, if you want to hurt the person who made me cry…you're going to need help."

  
"Okay…I'll get George and then this punk will rue the day he was born," Fred said, and I could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

  
I grabbed his arm. "Fred, wait!"

  
"What, Rin? Don't tell me it was some ruddy first year? Or Malfoy? I don't care. Nobody hurts you as far as I'm concerned."

  
"Even you?" I asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.

  
"Wh…what?" Fred stared at me, looking as if he'd been smacked in the back of the head with a bludger.

  
I got up and began to pace. "I know…it's stupid really…I'm stupid for even thinking it…"

  
"You're rambling, love. And it sounded like you said I had something to do with why you're crying…what does one have to do with the other?" he asked, walking over and pulling me into his arms.

  
"N…nothing, Fred. Like I said…I'm just being stupid is all. Everyone's acting so silly about this stupid Yule Ball…and it's not like I'm one of the champions, so I don't even need to be there. Not like I have anyone to go with anyway," I shrugged.

  
"Caitrin Faith O'Malley…" he began, and I cringed. He never used my middle name, much less my full name, unless he was upset with me. It was always Rin…or some catlike name. "Are you trying to tell me you're upset because you didn't think I was going to ask you to the Yule Ball?"

  
I pulled out of his arms and looked down at my feet, feeling my face turn at least the same shade as Fred's hair. "Yes. See…told you I was being stupid. It's not as if I have any claim on you."

  
Fred started laughing and I looked up at him in horror. I knew it. I was right. He was going to ask Alicia Spinnet or Katie Bell.

  
"No claim on me?" Fred asked, his laughter dying and his expression sobering. He took my hands in his and towed me back over to the bed, sitting down and pulling me into his lap. "Kitten…you've had my heart ever since you told off that fourth year Slytherin on the Hogwarts Express in second year," he told me sincerely, his brown eyes shining.

  
"What?!" I blurted, shocked.

  
"Yeah. I don't think I'll ever forget that as long as I live," he grinned down at me. "Half his size and you didn't give a damn. You told him in no uncertain terms to leave me alone…or you were going to tell Dumbledore when we got to school and make sure he got detention for a month." Fred chuckled at the memory.

  
"He wasn't scared of me though," I replied, blushing at my own recollection of the event in question.

  
"No, he wasn't…but that isn't the point. I could have told him off myself, or George could have. That also isn't the point."

  
"What is then, Oh Brilliant One?" I asked cheekily.

  
"It's that you cared enough to stand up for what's right…screw the odds." He grinned.

  
"Hey…I can't help it if I was raised with manners and a sense of right and wrong…unlike damn near every Slytherin to ever set foot in this castle," I retorted, ducking my head to hide my embarrassment. I have never been very good at taking compliments. It's never made much sense to me to be lauded for just doing the right thing.

  
"And I love you for it," Fred proclaimed, his finger beneath my chin gently bringing my gaze back to his. "For that…and so much more."

  
Before I could even say a word, he leaned in and kissed me, the hand he'd been using on my chin cupping my face, his other arm wrapped behind my back, holding me close as his lips moved over mine.

  
My mind was spinning. Fred… _loved me_?

  
"You…love me?" I asked stupidly when he pulled back to look in my eyes.

  
"Merlin's beard, yes. Speaking of that," he tapped me on the nose. "I need two favors."

  
I blinked in confusion. "What?"

  
"One: be my girlfriend…and two: go to the Yule Ball with me?"

  
Tears came to my eyes and I blinked, making them fall. Fred leaned in and kissed them away. "Now, now…none of that," he admonished softly.

  
"Yes, Fred," I replied just as softly. "You wanna hear something?"

  
"Sure love," he smiled.

  
"I love you too, Freddie. I always have," I told him, leaning up and kissing him back, one arm sliding around his back, the other into his hair.

  
"About bloody damn time, you two," a familiar voice growled from behind us.

  
I pulled away from Fred with a groan. "Bugger off, Georgie. Can't you see I'm in the middle of a rather heated discussion with my boyfriend?"

  
"But you need a dress," another voice called plaintively from behind George.

  
I sighed and leaned my head against Fred's chest. He laughed. "Go find a beautiful dress, Rin. Have fun, sweetheart."

  
Reluctantly, I got up off his lap. "Okay…but I'm coming to see you when I get back," I told him, grabbing him by his tie and kissing him again, which caused George to make fake gagging sounds.

  
As I walked past George to join the girls for a shopping trip in Hogsmeade, I grinned. "Whatsa matter, George? Jealous?"

  
"Hell yeah," he laughed. "Everyone knows I'm the better-looking twin."

  
"In your dreams, Weasley," I snickered as I skipped down the stairs.

  
~~~~

  
The day of the Yule Ball was cold, but I didn't care. It wasn't as if the dance was being held outside, after all. Hermione, Ginny, Angelina and I spent hours closeted in our dorm, helping one another get ready. Ginny and Angelina had decided to wear their hair straight, so theirs didn't need much work, but Hermione and I wanted our hair to look beautiful. Hermione was going with the Durmstrang champion Viktor Krum, and Ginny was going with Neville. I helped Hermione pin her hair up and curl some of it to hang over her shoulder. She in turn curled my hair for me in a lovely half-up half down style that made me feel beautiful.

  
After our hair and makeup were done, we all helped each other into our dresses. Angelina's was simple yet lovely black velvet. Ginny's was pink and spring green while Hermione's was pink – most of it a darker shade, but the sleeves and topmost layer of ruffles were pale. My dress was strapless and in varying shades of purple – from splashes of fuschia on the bodice to such a dark shade it seemed black on the skirt. Once our dresses were in order, we stepped into our shoes.

  
"Well, ladies…shall we go make our dates drool?" Angelina asked with a grin.

  
"And make those that didn't ask us…jealous as hell?" I smirked, giving Ginny and Hermione pointed looks.

  
"Yes, let's," Hermione agreed, and we descended the dorm stairs one after the other, whispering and giggling over what we thought the boys' reactions would be.

  
We knew the boys would all be waiting near the Great Hall, so we had a bit of relief from being confronted in the common room. We met up with the Patil twins along the way and the six of us made our way to the Great Hall together. Fred and George spotted us all first, which was no surprise, due to their height. Fred let out a low appreciative whistle as he extended his arm for me to take. "You look beautiful, Caitrin."

  
"So do you, Fred," I grinned, taking in his black tie, askew as always, which added to his charm, along with the bronze vest a few shades darker than his hair and the black dress robe that topped off the ensemble.

  
"Thank you, milady," he grinned back as we stepped into the Great Hall where we danced every dance and stayed in one another's arms all night.

 


End file.
